gomangosteen

Last week daughter #1 went up to Rayong to see an indoor tulip growing facility. Temperature maintained at a chilly 14.8C - not exactly life-threatening but she was prepared with additional clothing, however as she says, believes it's the first time in her life she's experienced sub-20C temperatures apart from opening the refrigerator. Back to normal - forecast 34C at 3pm today, 23C overnight.

Mediocre? - four EuroLeague titles, three Russian League titles, two World Cup titles, two Olympic gold medals. Plus a huge list of awards and titles since junior school. Mediocre? How do you compare?

King Taksin Day The Cabinet has also declared 28 December the eastern region’s 2021 regional holiday, celebrating King Taksin Day. This holiday will be observed in 8 eastern provinces, namely Chachoengsao, Chon Buri, Rayong, Chanthaburi, Trat, Nakhon Nayok, Prachin Buri, and Sa Kaeo. . . My understanding is this is only for the usual suspects - government, banks, schools. Helpfully the immigration website states: "Closed on holidays"

Yesterday morning two police arrived. This is the moment, I thought, after 11 yrs in this town ... but they were lost, I gave them directions to the correct address. Disappointed.

And judging by the whiny b1tches here there's a few 'she's masquerading as males ... Brittney Griner featured in YouTube videos while at junior school, viewed by several million. Bit early to have had 'your op' She has won two Olympic gold medals, two World Championship gold medals, four European league titles, three Russian league titles, numerous US awards/titles, plus a long list of awards from high school onwards. I think it would take quite a moron to think no one had pointed out by now she was male. Over to you.

I came home on Friday 2nd Dec - certainly no shortage of taxis at Suvarnabhumi that morning - no wait at all, just get my ticket from the machine and walk to the waiting car.

Related, in a way, I read this story recently, incredible courage and perseverance from one of the bomber's victims - what a man! Bali bombing victim given 5% survival chance now a star on the golf course Nov 30 2022 It is hard not to notice Ben Tullipan on a golf course. The 46-year-old Aussie walks confidently up to the tee and swings like a seasoned pro. Two artificial legs are the only clue he’s not your average club hacker. Tullipan sustained horrendous injuries in 2002 in what is now known as the Bali bombings – a terrorist attack on a resort in the Indonesian tourist hotspot that killed 202 people. Golf has been crucial to his recovery and on Monday and Tuesday he played in the NZ Disability Golf Open at Manor Park Golf Sanctuary in Lower Hutt. [Wellington, New Zealand] “I was 5 metres away from a car bomb when it went off,” he recalls. Unable to use his legs, he tried to drag himself out but suffered further injuries from broken bottles and fire. Doctors told Tullipan he was unlikely to survive but if he did, he would never walk. As well as both legs, he lost hearing on one side and most of his stomach muscles. More than 60% of his shattered body suffered full thickness burns. Given a 5% chance of survival he wanted to prove the doctors wrong and show he could lead a normal life. Once he learned to walk, the former boxer looked for a new sport and when his mates joked he would fall over on his two artificial legs if he tried golf, he rose to the challenge. Golf had given him many opportunities to meet people and tell his inspiring story, he said. Now living in Queensland, Tullipan works for Empower Golf running clinics encouraging those with disabilities to take up golf.

I'm with you on that one; I'm not retired - just what do retired people 'do' all day that it's so desperate to come back the same day? It's not as if the required dates aren't known well in advance, we take them as holidays - returned yesterday from KL having spent a week traveling, headed back to Malacca as hadn't been there since 2016; same ever since I've been here, trips within Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, never less than a week.

These lampposts didn't even get posts ... loosely attached to buildings along a Chanthaburi riverside road, only a few function as lights, several have fallen off and sit propped up on the pavement as ornaments. I wasn't aware of this fraud business ... there's also a stretch of rural road, no houses, that strangely has about 150m of fancy lights for no apparent reason. I don't know if they're connected, or purely decorative. Money well spent? Did consider taking one home for the garden, but that would be akin to a crime against humanity and the "ha ha" full force of the law would apply

A visit wouldn't bother me; as it seems I may now the only westerner (pop. 7000) in town since Covid appears to have cleared out the seniors I'd feel special???? if an IO delegation turns up from the city. I used to be in a cycling group with one of the city IOs unsure if he's still there, in our 12th year here I've never never had any bother with the Chanthaburi office. Police obviously know I'm here, only interactions are smiles and waves, though I was once pulled over by highway patrol and told off for cycling on Sukhumvit Rd as it was "too dangerous". It's a quiet life.

My partner is an accountant for a civil engineering company. Roads and bridges. Contracts mostly 600 million upwards, the standard cut for 'officials' is factored into their contract tenders at 11%. That's the way it is. Without those payoffs, no contracts. Every time a progress payment is due from local government, so too a progress payment is due to the local government inspectors who sign off on work completed.

Bizarre comment, yet you are so bold as to refer to others as 'retards'. NZ does not feature in the FIFA World Cup. As if that is relevant to anything. NZ has incredible native biodiversity borne out of its geographic isolation, no common land borders. People make huge efforts to support, retain and boost near-extinct species and no need for introduced pests.

Winner! Hyped up for the press pictures apparently. A lot of false or exaggerated claims from Kathu police fed to the media. According to the latest news report in Phuket states he is facing two firearms charges for illegal weapons. The rest were replica (Airsoft?) He was involved in a Line group trading them. No mention from Kathu police on the grenades so it would seem they too may be replicas. He was released after one night in custody, he has a reporting-in every 12 days condition on his release, and no date has been set for a court hearing. And he had a nail gun which police stated is not a problem, he has been using it to put up shelves in the house. Still, two illegal firearms is two too many.

Koi carp are an introduced noxious pest fish in New Zealand "rats of the river". It is illegal to sell, breed or distribute them.

Ideally those tourists can afford to stay in hotels with televisions.

Best men on the job

Short hiking trip in the Khung Krabaen Non-Hunting area, Chanthaburi coast. Over a hill then down to sea level to the pink rocks at end of the peninsula

I stated my own experience. And was responding to an earlier statement "For a tourist visa it is the same." but thanks all the same ????

I've flown in well over 40x and never been asked re funds; however - for Tourist Visa in 2022 - appears it may differ by country of origin. We currently have a guest staying from New Zealand; they were required to provide a bank letter for their Tourist Visa application confirming they had over NZ$2000 (equates to 44,000 baht at today's rates), as per below from the cover sheet to accompany the application, bank provided while they waited (no cost): 9. A copy of the most recent bank statement providing evidence of sufficient funds for staying in Thailand (credit card and home loan accounts not accepted). Name, bank account balance, account transactions must be clearly indicated. The statement MUST be signed, stamped and dated by the bank. o Tourist Visa (single entry) - at least NZ$ 2,000 per person; o Tourist Visa (multiple entries) - at least NZ$ 9,000 per person, showing the transactions for the past 6 months;

NZ houses #2. Wellington again, friends sold their property to a developer @ $1.15m, bank withdrew developer's finance the day before settlement end of June. A chain of events as they had a conditional offer on another property, as did those vendors and so on. Now unsold @$950k. It's a 'development opportunity' for demolition / build apartments but finance for developers apparently no longer an option.

NZ houses. And it does vary by region/city in terms of how much the prices have dropped. I worked in NZ on contract over April-August this year and stayed with a friend in Wellington. She had received her new govt property valuation which impacts on annual rates payable. The rateable value was $1.48m up from the previous $1.1m and reflective of the insane prices of late 2021. She's freehold and not looking to sell. A reality check from the house two doors along with almost identical house, property size, and valuation. Marketed by a real estate company at $1.4m, reduced after a month to $1.2m and eventually sold at $980k. The downside in all this of course is for the next three years her rates are based on the now unrealistic $1.48m.

Hi. Just some notes on Chanthaburi. Get your Google maps ready The bus terminal is just outside the central city area, near the lake and the main Lotus shopping complex. Minivans for eg Ban Pakkard are from Chantanamit, across the river down an alley opposite Robinson's. Maybe 10 minutes+ drive depending on traffic. There are no tuk-tuks in Chanthaburi it's all Mazda pickups with a bench seat and commonly a leaking noisy exhaust that seems to vent its fumes through holes in the floor. They queue at the bus station. English speaking is extremely rare for a pickup driver (11 years, it's 'never' in my exp). Though they should know "Robinson". The minivan. I only used it once all those years ago, that was enough. It was for locals, stopping constantly to drop-off and pick-up and carrying crates of produce for the market. An experience, but certainly not luxury travel. Hope it goes well for you and look forward to a positive result!

My NZ passport renewal - completed online on a Thursday, following morning a call from NZ Dept Internal Affairs wanting to confirm why I required a new one, ie it hadn't been lost or stolen as hadn't expired, explained full of visa and entry/exit stamps, all ok. Processed by Monday and arrived for collection at DHL agent in Chanthaburi on Wednesday afternoon. Six days, as good as it gets.

I haven't been to Ban Laem/Daung since November 2012, it's a little further north from Ban Pakkard. At that time the markets were bigger than Ban Pakkard, and overall a lot busier, can't comment on 2022. From the archives - Ban Laem/Daung November 2012.

2-part epoxy for bare concrete; ThaiWatsadu, Global, HomePro will all have a range available.